No doubt, men and women across the country will sit down next weekend to watch the Super Bowl together. For many, it might be the only time of year they enjoy a sporting event together. For others, however, sports are an important part of their life, and they want a partner who can enjoy sporting events with them.

It’s Just Lunch, a matchmaking service for busy professionals, conducted a survey of over 1,400 people to determine the role sports plays in relationships. The results of the survey suggest that the younger you are, the more important it is that you have sports in common. Here are some of the most interesting results from the survey:

Nearly one in every five people in the survey said sports have negatively impacted a relationship in the past. That number rose to one in every three people when looking at the 18-24 age group and dropped down to one in ten with those aged 55-64. Women were more likely to say the issue was the amount of time and money spent on sports, while men were more likely to admit that a bad mood after a “crappy game” caused the fight.

Good news for sports teams: 45 percent of both men and women say they’d like to go to a sporting event for their first date. Somewhat surprisingly, women were more enthusiastic about it than men. Only 23 percent of women said they’d rather not go to a sporting event on a first date, compared to over 30 percent of men.

The younger someone is, the more likely they found it important their partner be interested in sports. Twenty-five percent of 25- to 34-year olds indicated their partner must like sports and be willing to go to and watch games, whereas only 10 percent of 55- to 64-year olds felt the same way. Overall, 59 percent of men and 43 percent of women wanted a partner who would watch a game or go to a game every once in awhile.

Younger people are also more likely to spend an entire Saturday or Sunday in front of the television watching college or NFL football five months out of the year. Forty-one percent of 25- to 34-year olds said they’d rejoice if they learned their partner spent their weekends this way, because that’s how they like to spend their weekends. That number plummeted to 16 percent in the 45-54 age group.

More good news for sports teams: 84 percent of people said they’d be willing to use vacation time to travel to a sporting event with their significant other. Fifty-three percent of both men and women said they’d be ok if it was just once for a big event, and 31 percent responded with the more enthusiastic: “When do we leave? I’ll pack my bags!”

Super Bowl parties could be a good place to meet a date. Forty-five percent of both men and women said a Super Bowl party would be a good place to meet a date. Only 21 percent of men and 14 percent of women responded that Super Bowl parties were a bad place to meet a date, the rest said it depended on who was throwing the party.

Is it important to you that your potential partner like sports or be open to learning more? Let the matchmakers at It's Just Lunch help you find your match! Get started today by calling us at 1-800-489-7897 or click here to tell us a little about yourself.